St. Bridget

St Bridget, who lived in the early 1300’s, had a special devotion to the Passion of Our Lord.

She prayed asking to have revealed to her the number of Jesus’ holy wounds, and it is said that Jesus appeared to her and rewarded her patience. He revealed to her that his wounds numbered 5,480, and He presented her with a set of prayers meant to honor each wound if prayed daily for one year.

Another version of St Bridget’s prayers is said over 12 years, reflecting on the 7 times Jesus’ Blood was spilled during His life. Each set of prayers has its own set of promises attached to it, including saving souls from Purgatory, generational blessings, and no Purgatory for the soul who prays them.

These two sets of prayers are highly regarded as meaningful meditation of the Passion of Jesus, though none of the promises have been officially approved.  I learned of these prayers about 8 years ago, from a cousin who had just been made aware of them.

Suzanne called one night, very excited to tell me what her sister-in-law had just told her, and urged me to research it.

She revealed that her sister-in-law’s mother had recited these prayers, and just as one of the 12-year prayer promises declare, she was rewarded with 30-day notification of her impending death. This cousin, a devout Catholic and daily communicant, changed our family’s prayer path.

We hadn’t before this point regularly said much more than the Guardian Angel’s prayer at night as a family. We would pray the Rosary daily during Lent but fall away from it during the rest of the year. I had been praying for a way to permanently bring consolidated, daily prayer back in, and I saw this as an opportunity to do just that.

With Suzy’s guidance, I set up an app called iPieta, spoke with my husband about it, and shortly thereafter we began.

We will complete the 12-year prayer on May 25, 2023. The promises are certainly a bonus, if they come to be true; however, they are not the reason we continue to pray this way. Our devotion to Jesus’ sufferings has strengthened us, our family has come together each night for one prayerful purpose, and as a mother with a heart of St Monica, I believe in the power of prayer.

St Bridget, pray for us.